Does Charles River Laboratories pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Charles River Laboratories employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Charles River Laboratories. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Charles River Laboratories?

49% of Charles River Laboratories employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Charles River Laboratories 3.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.2 for culture and values and 3.1 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Charles River Laboratories?

Lab Technician (78) , Scientist (69) , Animal Care Technician (65) , Research Technician (55) , Technician (52) , Analyst (51) , Research Associate (46) , Research Scientist (42) , Supervisor (37) , Research Assistant (36) , Laboratory Technician (31) , Study Director (27) , Project Manager (25) , Manager (22) , Associate Scientist (20)

What are the pros of working at Charles River Laboratories according to real employee reviews?

"The ability to move around within the company is relatively good and the benefits are good." ((in 240 reviews)); "Great people you work with and a relatively easy job with very easy to understand ladder to climb." ((in 170 reviews)); "Great people and team to work with" ((in 46 reviews)); "Great Coworkers (for the most part)" ((in 44 reviews)); "Flexible hours available" ((in 40 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Charles River Laboratories according to real employee reviews?

"sites are disorganized and pay is low" ((in 179 reviews)); "Management is poor and people who are in charge lack knowledge of CDMO" ((in 172 reviews)); "The low salary also makes it hard to subsequently ask for more at another company." ((in 116 reviews)); "upper management is awful, lots of work to do which overwhelms people easily." ((in 35 reviews)); "poor leadership and refuses to take responsibility" ((in 32 reviews))

What are employees saying about Charles River Laboratories layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Charles River Laboratories layoffs and their outlook for job security at Charles River Laboratories in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Charles River Laboratories locations?

Wilmington , Mattawan , Reno , Ashland , Horsham , Shrewsbury , Memphis , Boston , Charleston , Worcester , Chicago , Bethesda , Raleigh , South San Francisco , Malvern , Wayne , Cambridge , Skokie , San Diego , Rockville , Morrisville , Newark , Frederick , Philadelphia , Spencerville , Kalamazoo , Wilmington , Durham , Kingston , Catskill

Charles River Laboratories reviews

3.1

49% would recommend to a friend

(2,373 total reviews)

Birgit Girshick

64% approve of CEO

32% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Charles River Laboratories has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,373 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Charles River Laboratories employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

3.0

Nov 6, 2015

Tech.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Contribution to the health care industry.

Cons

Ever changing rules of promotion the "chosen few" while everyone else is left behind.

4.0

Nov 5, 2015

Formulations Technician III

Research assistant i, ii, iii

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

There was lots of opportunity for growth, tons to learn, a great feeling of responsibility, and fantastic coworkers.

Cons

Can be long hours and the job requires you to get things changed on a whim if a sponsor decides to completely re-do their study last minute.

1.0

Oct 20, 2015

A Great Place to Regret.

Animal care technician

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The hours are regular, although you will probably work weekends. The benefits are reasonable. The pay is decent. Not great, but not bad. This is why most people I knew stayed with the company.

Cons

Management is quite petty. You can be written up or fired on a whim. Over the years, I saw plenty of people quit or get fired due to this petty behavior. I frequently sat at home and cried because of the management. You will not get promotions unless you act as petty as the management. The hardest workers and nicest people I knew never left the bottom tier. Lazy people are allowed to stay lazy, which just breaks the spirit of anyone who wants to work hard. If lazy people do not complete tasks, those tasks will be piled on the hard workers. The work is repetitive and requires little thinking or skill. That might be fine if you are just content with a paycheck, but if you want a sense of worth or pride, you will probably want out as much as I did.

Viewing 2242 - 2244 of 2,373 Reviews

Jobs at Charles River Laboratories

Animal Care Technician II

Animal Care Associate (EG)

TEMP Packing Assembler